Flap: Lake Champlain, Vermont, Jul–Aug 1873
3 reports · 3 separate documents
Water Monster (2), Other Aquatic (1).
In the 10 years either side we have 3 other reports within 37 miles of here.
The reports, in order
- Jul 1873 Witness reports that Commodore Bisell and party interviewed a sea serpent near Shelburne Bay, saw it moving faster than any steamer with thirty feet of its…
Water Monster · Lake Champlain, Vermont · rabbit hole - Jul 1873 Witness reports Mr. S. D. Torrey and his party had a clear view of the snake in Panton which made the whole bay boil.
Water Monster · Panton, Vermont - Aug 1873 The newspaper claims the saurophidian has been seen in Lake Champlain.
Other Aquatic · Lake Champlain, Vermont
Sources: Newspaper (3).
How we find flaps
- Plain rules, no model: reports within 37 miles and about four months of each other are grouped, and a group counts only when it is at least 5 times what that place usually sees over the 10 years either side.
- A flap needs at least 3 reports from at least 3 separate documents: one article listing six sightings is one telling.
- Copies are not confirmations: a story reprinted in thirty papers counts once.
- Investigator logs (BFRO, NAWAC, the Loch Ness Register) are left out, because a busy field season looks just like a flap.
- Only reports placed to a town or county and dated to the month are used. A flap is a burst of reports, not proof of a creature: panics, hoaxes and newspaper fashions make flaps too.